Jim Henry – Rush Chapel Cemetery

 (originally called Jim Henry Cemetery)

 

Jim Henry Township

Section 17, Township 41 North, Range 13 West

Miller County, MO.

 

Jim Henry was the first resident Osage Indian of Miller County.

 

 

From Hwy 54 at the Hwy 17 junction, take Hwy 17 to Jim Henry Rd., go 1.8 miles. Cemetery is on the left side of the road.  If you come in from Mary’s Home, turn on Jim Henry Rd. and go 2 miles. Cemetery is on the right side of the road.

 

Personally inventoried by Dianna (Hale) Mattingly & Glenda (May) Crawford - May 18, 2001.

 

Updated by Dianna (Hale) Mattingly using thousands of obituaries.  Updating will continue as long as I am able to do so.

 

For any information or corrections, please contact me at:  deestarr47@gmail.com

 

***In addition, I am including information from Miller County Clerk, Clyde Lee Jenkins about the resident Indian Jim Henry.

 

***Also, I am including information from Peggy Smith Hake which has a photograph of the actual home of Indian Jim Henry and his family called “Rock House” at the end of Mr. Jenkins information.

 

 

 

 

Allen, Sam

no dates – no info

 

Bittle, Samuel “Sammy”   (Infant)

10 Nov. 1911 – 8 May 1915

s/o William Albert Bittle & Sarah Margaret (Winters) Bittle

 

Bittle, Sarah Margaret (Winters)

5 Nov. 1881 – 13 Apr. 1949

d/o Samuel Barton Winters & Mary Elizia (Rush) Winters

w/o William “Albert” Bittle -  wed 24 Dec. 1901 – Miller County, Mo

 

Bittle, William “Albert”
9 Oct. 1881 – 12 May 1956

s/o James Robert Bittle & Mary Francis (Roberts) Bittle

h/o Sarah Margaret (Winters)  - 24 Dec. 1901 – Miller County, Mo same stone

h/o Nancy Jane (Ramsey)

 

Bittle, William Russell “Billy”  (Infant)

2 Dec. 1926 – 18 Aug. 1928

s/o William Albert Bittle & Sarah Margaret (Winters) Bittle

 

Farley, Carrol Everett

16 Oct. 1929 – 19 Oct. 1929

s/o James Edward Farley & Ruth S. (Winters) Farley

 

Farley, Hazel Irene      (Infant)

25 June 1917 – 2 July 1917

d/o Owen R. Farley & Beulah Pearl (Winters) Farley

sister of - Marbell Ellen Farley

 

Farley, Infant

25 Mar. 1924 – 26 Mar. 1924

d/o James Edward Farley & Ruth S. (Winters) Farley

 

Farley, Jewel May   (Infant)

28 Dec. 1926 – 14 Jan. 1927

d/o Owen R. Farley & Beulah Pearl (Winters) Farley

 

Farley, Marbell Ellen     (Infant)

28 Dec. 1926 – 14 Jan. 1927

d/o Owen R. Farley & Beulah Pearl (Winters) Farley

sister of Hazel Iran Farley

 

Feltrop, Albertine    (Infant)

born & died – 23 Nov. 1931

Miller County records

 

Feltrop, Belle Esther    (Infant)

13 Jan. 1918 – 5 Mar. 1918

d/o Albert Feltrop (born in Germany) & Bessie (Lovall) Feltrop

twin sister of  - same stone as Ruby Feltrop

 

Feltrop, Churchill    (child)

29 Sept. 1913 – 27 May 1927

 

Feltrop, Dollie Mae (Williams)

22 May 1889 – 20 June 1972

d/o Joseph Williams & JoAnn (Walls) Williams

w/o William M. Feltrop – wed 20 Mar. 1910 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Feltrop, Dolores Mae

18 Aug. 1930 – June 1944

d/o William M. Feltrop & Dollie Mae (Williams) Feltrop

 

Feltrop, Jewel Faye    (Infant)

23 Dec. 1926 – 27 Jan. 1927

d/o William M. Feltrop & Dollie Mae (Williams) Feltrop

 

Feltrop, John Gaylord

9 Sept. 1912 – 2 Feb. 1956

s/o William M. Feltrop & Dollie Mae (Williams) Feltrop

Miller County records

 

Feltrop, Ruby       (Infant)

20 Jan. 1917 – 20 Jan. 1917

d/o Albert Feltrop & Bessie (Lovall) Feltrop

sister of  - same stone as Belle Esther Feltrop 

 

Feltrop, William M.

10 Aug. 1882 – 10 Mar. 1964

s/o Ben Feltrop & Dena (Holderman) Feltrop

h/o Dollie Mae (Williams) – wed 20 Mar. 1910 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Halderman, Allen George “Al”

5 Apr. 1877 – 9 Jan. 1965

s/o Gabriel Halderman & Mary Elizabeth (Bauer) Halderman

h/o Jessie Margaret (Winters) – wed abt. 1909

 

Halderman, Floyd George Sr.

18 Sept. 1923 – 30 June 2007

s/o Allen George Halderman & Jessie Margaret (Winters) Halderman

 

Halderman, Infant

1914 – 1914

d/o Allen George Halderman & Jessie Margaret (Winters) Halderman

 

Halderman, Jessie Margaret (Winters)

12 Sept. 1895 – 20 Nov. 1926

d/o Alrick David Winters & Nancy Ellen (Rush) Winters

w/o Allen George Halderman – wed abt. 1909

 

Hawk, James John Henry “Jimmie”

29 Dec. 1905 – 29 Apr. 1951

s/o James L. Hawk & Mammie (Hensley) Hawk

h/o Melba Wanita (Rush) – wed 25 May 1927

 

Hawk, Kenneth Ray

4 Sept. 1948 – 19 Dec. 2018

s/o James John Henry “Jimmie” Hawk & Melba Wanita (Rush) Hawk


Hawk, Melba Juanita (Rush)

8 Oct. 1908 – 5 Sept. 1967

d/o Albert Lee Rush & Minnie Catherine (Sullens) Rush

w/o James John Henry “Jimmie” Hawk – wed 25 May 1927

two other sons have passed:  Harold Gene Hawk & Russell Edward Hawk

 

Hodge, Harriet E. (Rush)

26 Sept. 1857 – 25 Dec. 1940

d/o James M. Rush & Theresa Jane (Loveall) Rush

w/o Samuel Barton Johnston

w/o Singleton Lee Hodge – wed 1 Apr. 1888 – Mary\s Home Mo

 

Hodge, Joseph James

16 Jan. 1924 – 19 Oct. 1936

s/o George James Hodge & Lavada Carmelia (Barnett) Hodge

 

Hodge, Singleton Lee

1 Mar. 1855 – 20 Dec. 1937

s/o James B. Hodge & Sophronia Dorcas (Miller) Hodge

h/o Harriet E. (Rush) Johnson  – wed 1 Apr. 1888 – Mary\s Home Mo

 

Johnston, Edna May (Sullens)

18 Dec. 1891 – 23 Aug. 1967

d/o Benjamin Franklin Sullens & Melinda Alice (Sullivan) Sullens

w/o Willard Johnston – wed 28 Dec. 1912

twin of Edgar Sullens

 

Johnston, John Hinds

10 Dec. 1867 – 9 Jan. 1939

s/o Samuel Barton Johnston & Mariah (Hinds) Johnston

h/o Lena Paradine (Winters) – wed 23 June 1898 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Johnston, Joseph Barton “Joe”

1862 - Apr. 1930

s/o Samuel Barton Johnston & Mariah (Hinds) Johnston

h/o Zereldia Ann (Rush) – wed 29 Dec, 1886 – Miller County, Mo

 

Johnston, Lena Paradine (Winters)

25 June 1879 – 28 June 1959

d/o Samuel Barton Winters & Mary Elizia (Rush)

w/o John Hinds Johnston – wed 23 June 1898 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Johnston, Mariah (Hinds)

1840 – no date

w/o Samuel Barton Johnston – wed 13 Mar. 1859 – Miller County, Mo

 

Johnston, Samuel Barton

1834 – 1886

h/o Mariah (Hinds) – wed 13 Mar. 1859 – Miller County, Mo

h/o Harriet E. (Rush)

 

Johnston, Willard Jr.  “Junior     (Veteran)

3 Dec. 1921 – 22 July 1993

PFC U S Army – WW II – Purple Heart

s/o Willard Johnston & Edna May (Sullens) Johnston

 

Johnston, Willard “Willie”
23 Jan. 1888 – 30 June 1932

s/o Joseph Barton Johnston & Zereldia Ann (Rush) Johnston

h/o Edna May (Sullens)

 

Johnston, Zereldia Ann (Rush)

15 Mar. 1869 – 2 Mar. 1916

d/o Ephraim Henson Rush & Sarah Jane (Loveall) Rush

w/o Joseph Barton Johnston – wed 29 Dec, 1886 – Miller County, Mo

 

Judkins, Freda M. (Rush)

18 Feb. 1919 – 17 Feb. 1993

 

Koetting, Herman John

15 Aug. 1898 – 18 Mar. 1967

s/o Steve Koetting & Mary (Feltrop) Koetting

h/o Ida (Smith)

 

Lewis, Mamie C. (Hensley)

8 May 1883 – 13 Aug. 1950

d/o John Hensley

w/o ? ? Hawk

w/o Henry Lewis

 

Loveall, Amanda Jane (Rush)

1835 – no date

d/o Henson H. Rush & Margaret (Stout) Rush

w/o Stephen Lovall – wed 6 Feb. 1850 – Adair County, Kentucky

 

Loveall, James Madison

8 June 1868 – 26 Apr. 1953

s/o Daniel David Loveall & Frances Ann (Sweaney) Loveall – wed 30 Apr. 1865  

h/o Emma Alice (Johnston) – wed 15 June 1865 – Miller County, Mo

 

Loveall, Leonard Flemon “Flem”

May 1856 – 7 Dec. 1920

s/o Absolom Loveall & Dicy (Mills) Loveall

h/o Catherine Salina “Kate” (Winters) – buried Gageville Cemetery

h/o Catharine Salina (Winters) – wed 15 Aug. 1889 – Mary's Home, Mo – buried Gageville Cemetery, Miller County, Mo

 

Loveall, Stephen

1830 – no date

s/o Jonathan Loveall Jr. & Amy Ruth (Allen) Loveall

h/o Amanda Jane (Rush) – wed 6 Feb. 1850 – Adair County, Kentucky

 

McCoy, J M.

no dates –  no info

Miller County records

 

Mertel, Mary Margaret (Loveall)

1 Jan. 1855 – 8 May 1896

d/o Stephen Loveall & Amanda Jane (Rush) Loveall

w/o John Winn Sweaney – wed 16 June 1871 – Miller County, Mo – he disappeared soon after marriage – never heard of again

w/o Albert Aubrey Mertel – wed 8 Apr. 1892 – Miller County, Mo

 

Roark, Infant

born & died  - 11 June 1931

d/o Earl Roark & Ida (Gaither) Roark  - wed 27 Dec. 1923 – Miller County, Mo

 

Rush, Albert “Lee”

12 July 1879 – 28 Mar. 1981

s/o Henry Jasper Rush & Mary Alice (Allen) Rush

h/o Minnie Catherine (Sullens)

 

Rush, Alice Isabell “Belle” (Bittle)

13 Nov. 1877 – 20 Dec. 1951

d/o James Robert Bittle & Mary Frances (Roberts) Bittle

w/o Ephraim David Rush – wed 5 Oct. 1893 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Rush, Alpha M. (Winters)

1896 – 1969

d/o Wesley Fredrick Winters & Leta Josephine (Buster) Winters

w/o Johnathan Harvey Rush

 

Rush, Archie Trueman Sr.

9 Sept. 1905 – 22 June 1993

s/o Albert Lee Rush & Minnie Catherine (Sullens) Rush

h/o Ruth Zerelda (Rush) – wed 28 Aug. 1926 – St. Louis, Mo

 

Rush, Calob N.

no dates – no info

Miller County records

 

Rush, Carl

one date – 1 Nov. 1918

s/o Ephraim David Rush & Alice Isabell (Bittle) Rush

 

Rush, Charles Edward

15 Mar. 1882 – 24 May 1923

s/o Henry Jasper Rush & Mary Alice (Allen) Rush

h/o Maude E. “Amanda” (Wnters)  - wed 13 May 1904 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Rush, Chesney Thomas    (child)

29 Aug, 2007 – 17 Jan. 2017

s/o Roy Dale Rush & Torey Elizabeth (Wright) Rush

 

Rush, Cora Lee (Sullens)

3 Mar. 1875 – 11 Feb. 1955

d/o William Jasper Sullens & Nancy Cynthia “Nannie” (Scrivner) Sullens

w/o William Thornton Rush – wed 30 Mar. 1902 – Miller County, Mo

 

Rush, Elzie Adrian

19 Jan. 1904 – 3 Apr. 1921

s/o Albert Lee Rush & Minnie Catherine (Sullens)

 

Rush, Ephraim David

7 Sept. 1869 – 23 Dec. 1942

s/o Ephraim Henson Rush & Sarah Jane (Loveall) Rush

h/o Alice Isabelle (Bittle) – wed 5 Oct. 1893 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Rush, Ephraim Henson

28 Feb. 1828 – 19 Jan. 1895

s/o Henson H. Rush & Margaret (Stout) Rush

h/o Sarah Jane (Loveall) – wed 10 Apr. 1849 – Adair County, Kentucky

 

Rush, Freda    (Infant)

16 Aug. 1910 – 20 Jan. 1912

d/o Ephraim David Rush & Alice Isabell “Bell” (Bittle) Rush

 

Rush, Harry Gale      (Infant)

2 Apr. 1940 – 3 July 1944

s/o Roy Earl Rush & Milda Matilda (Hager) Rush

 

Rush, Harvey Johnathan “John”

21 Mar. 1897 – 16 June 1958

s/o Ephraim David Rush & Alice Isabell “Bill”  (Bittle) Rush

h/o Alpha M. (Winters)

 

Rush, Henry Jasper

8 Jan. 1856 – 19 Nov. 1932

s/o James M. Rush & Theresa Jane (Loveall) Rush

h/o Mary Alice (Allen) – wed 28 May 1877 – Miller County, Mo

 

Rush, Ishmael Lawrence

8 Apr. 1906 – 11 Oct. 1999

s/o Ephraim David Rush & Alice Isabel (Bittle) Rush

h/o Nannie Marie (Rush) – wed 19 Oct. 1929 – St. Louis, Mo

 

Rush, J. M.

died – 1812

Miller County records

 

Rush, James Gaylord    (Infant)

17 Feb. 1911 – 27 May 1911

s/o William Thornton Rush & Cora Lee (Sullens) Rush

 

Rush, James M. “Kain-Tuck”   (Civil War - Veteran)

1826 – 1892

Co B. - G  Mo State Militia (Union Army) Calvary

s/o Henson H. Rush & Margaret (Stout) Rush

h/o Mary (Blake) - died in childbirth

h/o Theresa Jane (Loveall) – wed 1 Feb. 1855 – Miller County, Mo

 

Rush, Jessie Amos  

6 Jan. 1899 – 16 Feb. 1911

s/o Henry Jasper Rush & Mary Alice (Allen) Rush

 

Rush, John William Sr.   (Civil War – Veteran)

6 Apr. 1831 – 28 Aug. 1904

Co. B.  G  Mo State Militia (Union Army) Calvary

s/o Henson H. Rush & Margaret (Stout) Rush

s/o Louisa Eliza (Kemp)

 

Rush, Laura Alice (Sullens)

18 Mar. 1888 – 8 Oct. 1963

d/o Benjamin Franklin Sullens & Melinda Alice (Sullivan) Sullens

w/o William Edgar Rush – wed 27 July 1912 – KC, Mo

sent to live with relatives along with her sister Edna -  her mother died when she was 6

 

Rush, Lewis Shelby “Louie”

7 Jan. 1871 – 24 Oct. 1968

s/o Oliver Stout Rush & Mary Delray (Winters) Rush

 

Rush, Lucy Ellen

3 Sept. 1892 – 19 Dec. 1971

d/o Henry Jasper Rush & Mary Alice (Allen) Rush

called Jim Henry Cemetery on death certificate

 

Rush, Mandy E.

4 July 1830 – no date

Miller County records

 

Rush, Mandy (Willow)

4 July 1879 – 14 Mar. 1919

d/o William Willow & Mary (Payne) Willow

w/o Huey Rush

 

Rush, Margaret (Stout)

1802 – no date

d/o James Abel Stout & Abigail (Holloway) Stout

w/o Henson H. Rush – wed 14 Oct. 1825 - KY

 

Rush, Mary Alice (Allen)

21 Feb. 1858 – 2 May 1929

d/o Sam Allen & Delison McCoy) Allen

w/o Henry Jasper Rush  – wed 28 May 1877 – Miller County, Mo

 

Rush, Mary Delray (Winters)

21 Feb. 1863 – 2 July 1889

d/o Louis Holloway Winters & Sarah Caroline (Bouenel) Ralston – wed 16 Apr. 1832 - Pennsylvania

w/o Oliver Stout Rush – wed abt 1880 – Miller County, Mo

 

Rush, Maude E. “Mandy” (Williams)

4 July 1879 – 14 Mar. 1919

d/o William Wiley Williams & Mary Francis (Payne) Williams

w/o Charles Edward Rush – wed 13 May 1904 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Rush, Milda Mathilda (Hager)

12 Feb. 1912 – 12 Mar. 1993

d/o Albert Hager & Henrietta (Popp) Hager

w/o Roy Earl Rush - wed 9 Aug. 1934 – Eldon, Mo

 

Rush, Minnie Catherine (Sullens)

2 Jan. 1880 – 29 Oct. 1951

d/o Benjamin Franklin Sullens & Malinda Alice (Sullivan) Sullens

w/o Albert Lee Rush – wed 12 Dec. 1900 – Miller County, Mo

 

Rush, Nannie Marie (Rush)

5 Feb. 1909 – 12 Nov. 1996

d/o William Thornton Rush & Cora Lee (Sullens) Rush

w/o Ishmael Lawrence Rush - wed 19 Oct. 1929 – St. Louis, Mo

 

Rush, Norman Wayne     (Veteran)

7 Dec. 1931 – 26 Oct. 2019

U S Army

s/o Ishmael Lawrence Rush & Nannie Marie (Rush) Rush

h/o Ileen (Carrender)  - wed 25 Apr. 1953 – Las Cruces, New Mexico

 

Rush, Oliver Stout

3 Mar. 1862 – 28 Apr. 1938

s/o Ephraim Henson Rush & Sarah Jane (Loveall) Rush

h/o Mary Delray (Winters) – wed abt 1880 – Miller County, Mo

 

Rush, Phyllis A. (Lightner)

6 July 1948 – 8 Oct. 2013

d/o Dale R. Lightner & Jesse M. (Horton) Lightner

w/o Sammy L. Rush – wed 25 Nov. 1972 – Eldon, Mo

 

Rush, Roscoe W.

8 Feb. 1926 – 4 Apr. 2018

s.o Albert Lee Rush & Minnie Catherine (Sullens) Rush

 

7 May 1913 – 14 June 1994

s/o Ephraim David Rush & Alice Isabel “Bill” (Bittle) Rush

h/o Milda Mathilda (Hager) - wed 9 Aug. 1934 – Eldon, Mo

 

Rush, Ruth Zerelda (Rush)

24 June 1908 – 11 Oct. 1999

d/o Ephraim David Rush & Alice Isabel “Bill” (Bittle) Rush

w/o Archie Trueman Rush, Sr. – wed 28 Aug. 1926 – St. Louis, Mo

 

Rush, S. E.

no dates – no info

Miller County records

 

Rush, Sarah Jane “Sally” (Loveall)

16 Apr. 1832 – 12 Apr. 1900

d/o Jonathan Loveall & Amy Ruth (Allen) Loveall

w/o Ephraim Henson Rush – wed 10 Apr. 1849 – Adair County, KY

 

Rush, Theresa Jane (Loveall)    

Oct. 1835 - 18 Nov. 1909

d/o Jonathan Loveall & Amy Ruth (Allen) Loveall

w/o James M. “Kain-Tuck” Rush – wed 1 Feb. 1855 – Miller County, Mo

 

Rush, William Edgar

20 Sept. 1886 – 11 Jan. 1931

s/o Oliver Stout Rush & Mary Delray (Winters) Rush

h/o Laura Alice (Sullens)

 

Rush, William Thornton

13 June 1874 – 29 Nov. 1954

s/o James M. Rush & Theresa Jane (Loveall) Rush

h/o Cora Lee (Sullens) – wed 30 Mar. 1902 – Miller County, Mo

 

Sullens, Franklin Pierce “Frank”

21 Mar. 1885 – 26 Nov. 1955

s/o Benjamin Franklin Sullens & Malinda Alice (Sullivan) Sullens

 

Thayer, Infant

no dates – no info

child of Georgia Francis “Georgie” (Winters)

 

Thayer, Georgia Francis “Georgie” (Winters)

11 Jan. 1911 – 9 July 1935

d/o Alrick David Winters & Nancy Ellen “Ella” (Rush) Winters

w/o Jimmy Thayer

 

West, Victory Josephine “Josephine” (Sweaney)

1874 - 1896

d/o John Winn Sweaney & Mary Margaret (Loveall) – John disappeared shortly after marriage -

w/o William M. West - wed 15 Mar. 1893 – Cole County, Mo

 

Williams, Charles Alford   (child)

10 Sept. 1919 – 12 May 1926

s/o William James Williams & Emma Frances (Rush) Williams

 

Williams, Emma Frances (Rush)

21 July 1888 – 19 Apr. 1957

d/o Henry Jasper Rush & Mary Alice (Allen) Rush

w/o William James Williams

 

Williams, Euly May   (Infant)

6 May 1924 – 6 May 1924

d/o William James Williams & Emma Frances (Rush) Williams

 

Williams, George Thomas

21 June 1882 – 19 Aug. 1941

s/o William Wiley Williams & Mary Francis (Payne) Williams

h/o Sarah Louise (Rush)  - wed 24 Dec. 1903 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Williams, Infant

born & died - 15 Apr. 1913

s/o James Edward Williams & Dora (Bennett) Williams

premature birth

 

Williams, James Lawrence

15 Apr. 1911 – 18 Sept. 1946

s/o William James Williams & Emma Frances (Rush) Williams

h/o Mable Lucille (Crouch)

 

Williams, Mary Francis (Payne)

13 Feb. 1858 – 29 Dec. 1927

d/o William Harrison Payne & Elizabeth Judson (Karr) Payne

w/o William Wiley Williams

 

Williams, Sarah Louise (Rush)

2 Feb. 1880 – 11 Nov. 1974

d/o John Riley Rush & Amelia Regina (Winters) Rush

w/o George Thomas Williams - wed 24 Dec. 1903 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Williams, William James

21 Feb. 1880 – 10 Apr. 1945

s/o William Wiley Williams & Mary Francis (Payne) Williams

h/o Emma Frances (Rush)

 

Williams, William Lee, Jr.    (Infant)

9 Nov. 1937 – 15 Nov. 1937

s/o William Lee Williams, Sr. & Edna Viola (Branson) Williams

 

Williams, William Wiley     (Civil War – Veteran)

28 Aug. 1854 - 4 Apr. 1932

Co.  H, 3rd MO Calvary

s/o J Y. Williams & Amanda Williams

h/o Mary Frances (Payne)

 

Wilson, Charley      (Veteran)

25 July 1907 – 11 Aug. 1960

MO. PVT Medical Department - WW II BSM PH

s/o George Wilson & Mary (Jarvis) Wilson

h/o Opal (Winters)

 

Winters, Alrick David

18 Oct. 1866 – 9 July 1946

s/o Louis Holloway Winters & Margaret (Rush) Winters

h/o Nancy Ellen (Rush)

 

Winters, Infant

born & died – 5 May 1919

d/o John Nicholas Winters & Nell I. (Gaither) Winters

same stone as George Thayer

 

Winters, Leta Josephine (Buster)

4 Apr. 1879 – 28 Aug. 1958

d/o Thomas Franklin Buster & Amanda A. (Rush) Buster

w/o Wesley Frederick Winters – wed 19 July 1896 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Winters, Mary Elizia (Rush)

12 Mar. 1860 – 6 Apr. 1906

d/o Ephraim Henson Rush & Sarah Jane (Loveall) Rush

w/o Samuel Barton Winters

 

Winters, Nancy Ellen (Rush)

27 Apr. 1868 – 8 July 1925

d/o John William Rush & Louisa Eliza (Kemp) Rush

w/o Alrick David Winters

 

Winters, Nell I. (Gaither)

14 July 1895 – 10 May 1919

d/o James C. Gaither & Castilla Josephine (Henley) Gaither

w/o John Nichols Winters

 

Winters, Paul Louis    

2 Nov. 1931 – 17 Apr. 1945

s/o Lewis Holloway Winters & Viola Frances (Walker) Winters

 

Winters, Ruth I.

1911 – 1989

d/o Wesley Fredrick Winters & Leta Josephine (Buster) Winters

 

Winters, Samuel Barton

3 Apr. 1856 – 8 Oct. 1938

s/o Louis Holloway Winters & Sarah (Ralston) Winters

h/o Mary Elizia (Rush)

h/o Lucy Ellen (Woods)

 

Winters, Wesley Frederick “Wes”

2 May 1875 – 4 Nov. 1948

s/o Louis Holloway Winters & Margaret (Loveall) Winters

h/o Leta Josephine (Buster)  – wed 19 July 1896 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Wright, Barcie Frances (Williams)

28 Apr. 1906 – 17 Dec. 1983

d/o William James Williams & Emma (Rush) Williams

w/o Isaac Newton Wright - wed 3 June 1922 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Wright, Harold Kenneth    (Infant)

born & died – 17 May 1923

s/o Isaac Newton Wright & Barcie Frances (Williams) Wright

 

Wright, Isaac Newton

30 Nov. 1900 – 6 Nov. 1984

s/o William Humphrey Wright & Annie Bell (Roach) Wright

h/o Barcie Frances (Williams) - wed 3 June 1922 – Mary's Home, Mo

 

Wright, Wilborn J.      (Infant)

16 July 1925 – 7 Oct. 1926

s/o Isaac Newton Wright & Barcie Frances (Williams) Wright

 

 

 

 

 


Last update: 2022
© 2001 by Dianna Hale-Mattingly

 

 

 

 

Home of Indian Jim Henry

  by Clyde Lee Jenkins

 

Home of Indian Jim Henry

The best known Indian was Jim Henry, probably the last of the Osage tribe to have lived in Miller county.  He was so well liked that a township, a church, a creek, and a school were named for him.  He lived with his wife and children in a large rock house built by Mother Nature in Township 41N, Range 13W, Section 18.

The rock house they lived in was, and still is, a natural oddity.  It is a large, freak rock formation located on a wooded hill-top with no other formations around it.  It is about sixty feet in length, circular in shape, and twenty or more feet in height.  On the south side of the rock there is a large opening, with an opening somewhat smaller on the east side.  Inside there is a spacious cavern.  Through the rock is a natural built-in chimney.  A fire inside the cavern would have smoke drawn through the cavern ceiling to the top of the rock.  Cooking over an inside fire, with heat for warmth, in a smoke free room, left little to be desired in the means of a comfortable dwelling.  With skins stretched over poles placed in the openings of the cavern, Jim Henry and his family enjoyed living in a primitive, but comfortable, Indian home.

In the Spring of 1834, Jim Henry, his squaw and two children were visited by Mr. William Miller and his young son, Pinkney S.  It was noted by them that the Indian had chiseled the print of his hand on a large projecting rock as a mark of his prosperity.  The hand print may still be visible.

What became of Jim Henry and his family is unknown.  Some say he went to his people in the southwest.  Others say he made a farewell speech at Tuscumbia where he thanked the people for the kindnesses always extended to him and his family, then departed for a destination unknown to anyone.  There are Indian graves close by the old rock home located in the township of Jim Henry, but nothing is known about them.  Today, the rock house sits quietly upon the secrets of an Indian family which once lived in its cavern.

The dress of an adult Indian, man or woman, was a waist-cloth and a belted blanket made from animal skins.  No clothing was worn by Indian children until almost grown.  Their first garment was a long, home-made shirt, - the first sack dress in Miller county.  The Osages lived in crude shelters made of skin and bark.

Isaac Bilyeu and his wife, both under twenty years of age, having followed Bill Hews into the Gasconade country on a hunting expedition in late 1818, settled on the Big Tavern creek east of present day Iberia in the early 1820’s.  For a number of years their closest neighbors were John Wilson on the Barren Fork, and Daniel Brumley on the Big Tavern.

Isaac hunted for deer and bear, of which there was an abundance.  From these animals he got meat for food and skins for leather breeches.  For a number of years he got corn from James Harrison,1 then living at the mouth of the Little Piney in present day Phelps county.  Isaac kept this corn inside his cabin, concealed in a hollow-log barrel.  When needed for food a small portion of the grain was placed in a bowl-shaped rock and crushed with a round stone by hand.


Isaac Bilyeu settled on the Big Tavern creek in the early 1820’s.
For a number of years he hunted with an Indian Chief named Rodgers.

Until about 1829, Isaac hunted with an Indian Chief named Rodgers.  Chief Rodgers, a White man, was removed from the cradle of his parents by Indians raiding White settlements near modern Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before the Revolutionary War.

After the War, Rodgers’ Shawnee band drifted down the river from the falls of the Ohio to the Mississippi, crossing the Father of Waters and hunting leisurely, northwestwardly into the Ozark mountains.  Upon reaching the Gasconade country, finding game to be in such an abundance, they ceased moving, erecting their villages on the Gasconade and Big Maries rivers.  The area of the Big Tavern creek was a portion of their hunting grounds.

The band by whom he was kidnapped eventually made Rodgers their Chief.

In the late Autumn of 1815, Daniel Brumley, having settled on the Big Tavern creek, obtained a supply of maize from the Indians at one of their villages on the Big Maries.  At Cedar creek he visited Jim and Archie Snowgrass, two young men from Tennessee, fifteen and seventeen years of age.

In 1823 Brumley accompanied Campbell Crismon to the Missouri river for salt coming down in canoes from the Boon’s Lick.  Campbell Crismon’s wife, a half-blood Cherokee, was called Wannah.  Campbell told Daniel that his wife, when a young girl, witnessed the torture of a Creek Indian captured by her father, a White man living with the tribe, and other warriors, while on the warpath in the Great Smoky Mountains of South Carolina. 

Watching her people burn the young Creek to death at the stake, she observed, although the fire seared his flesh, he stood like a statue, for no Indian ever displayed any emotions in times like this.  Only his hands moved slowly, twisting and assuming grotesque shapes, as he suffered through the agonies of flaming death.

The vision of the ordeal remained in Wannah’s mind, becoming more intensified in the later years of her lifetime.  Until her death, in moments of solitude, Wannah might be seen twisting, turning, and rubbing her hands.

In earlier days a corn dance was held by the Osage tribe on the Big Tavern creek each Spring, near their village north of the Wilson cave, celebrating the appearance of the first green springs of maize.

Hearing of very fertile land along the Osage river, in the late 1820’s, John M. Brockman settled six miles above later day Tuscumbia, by a big spring.  He moved there with a yoke of oxen, an ox-cart, a gun, a double-bit axe, and a few hand tools from in the vicinity of a very small settlement called Pleasant Mount on the prairie.

He cleared with great toil an area out of the wilderness near the big spring.  In a short time he was joined by a stranger from the other side of the river.  The stranger carried information that if logs were to be raised for a cabin, Mr. Brockman could find a pattern already cut on the other side of the Osage.  He had the logs for a cabin ready to be raised, but there were too many Indians.  They had not molested him in any way, but friendly or not their standing and sitting around watching while he worked made him nervous.  He was returning to civilization and giving his tenancy back to the Indians.  He was returning to the vicinity of Pleasant Mount on the prairie.

John M. Brockman crossed the river and found the pattern.  In a few days the logs were raised and the cabin completed.  The Indians remained in the vicinity several weeks.  Later, the land was patented by Mr. Brockman during the administration of President Andrew Jackson.  This farm remained in the Brockman family until 1948, - more than 120 years.  The Brockman farm, the Brockman Ford across the Osage river, the Brockman Ferry, the Brockman steamboat landing and the Big Spring, were early landmarks in Miller county.

The early settlers along the Dog creek in Miller county were informed by the Indians that once upon a time the backwaters of the Osage river filled the creek to the upper spring on the Zelly branch.  In elm bark canoes they had traveled from the river to the spring.  The settler believed this impossible since the spring was located too high in the valley and far from the river.  In 1943, the waters of the Osage river flooded the Dog creek and the Zelly branch filled to the upper spring.  The high waters referred to by the Indians probably occurred in 1785, noted as the Year of the Great Waters on the Mississippi.

In 1828, Samuel Gilleland and his wife, Mary, settled on a tract of land near present day Olean.  The deer and the wolves played on the prairie where Eldon is located.  A lone Indian, or a group of Indians in single file, traveling across the prairie were viewed as a part of the primitive scene.

An Indian trading post was at present day Tuscumbia.  A village of Indians occupied the bank of the Osage river at the foot of the bluff and by the spring.  A White man was told by an Indian that if ever a cabin was placed at this point it should be raised above a certain mark on the bluff side to be safe from floods.


Village of Indians at Tuscumbia

In a treaty with the Osage Nation on November 10, 1808, at Fort Osage, located on the south bank of the Missouri river east of present day Kansas City, the Indians ceded their lands in Missouri to the Government of the United States.  For these lands, and others, the Great Osages received $1800 in cash and merchandise, the Little Osages half that amount; a bargain of fantastic proportions.

However, upon ceding this part of their land to the Government they retained a right to hunt over the ground for a number of years.  These hunting parties made the people nervous, and Indian scares were common, especially on the North side of the Osage river.  Often families slept concealed near their cabins.  At other times a number of families gathered in one place for protection against imminent attack, but always the Indians were peaceable.

After the Indians ceased hunting in Miller county, small groups occasionally passed through the territory following the old Harmony Mission Trace and Indian trails going to and from St. Louis or to visit the great White Father in Washington.  The Old Harmony Mission Trace was the White man’s first overland trail through Miller county.  It was used by the first settlers from the East coming to Central and Western Missouri, and earlier, by the fur traders and trappers of the tribe of Daniel Boone.

In Many parts of Miller county artificial mounds and other remains give evidence of Indian habitation.  The Osages buried their dead by covering the corpse, wrapped in skins, with stones.  Buried side by side and covered with stones, mounds of considerable size were erected.

The sole inhabitants of the forests and the prairies when the White man arrived on the scene, the Osage Indians, after 1835, were generally gone as long as the sun shall shine or the waters run in the rivers, forever.

1.  The father of James Pryor Harrison, and John Benjamin Harrison who established a trading post at Tuscumbia.

 

ROCK HOUSE-OSAGE INDIANS

By Peggy Smith Hake

The Osage Indians, who dwelt in the land of Miller County long before it became a county, were the tallest race of men in North America. Few stood under 6 foot and some reached 7 foot in height. The most famous member of the Osage tribe to live within the boundaries of Miller County was Jim Henry. He and his family lived in a unique cave which has been called 'the rock house' over the generations. His legend lives on in our county because his name remains as a township, a creek, and a school.

Many years ago, before the white man arrived, Miller County was inhabited by the Osage Indian tribes. They lived mainly along the basin of the Big Tavern Creek, which was rich in vast forests and was plentiful with game and wildlife. It has been recorded that in 1822 an Indian village was located near the Barren Fork of the Big Tavern Creek. Evidently there were members of the Osage tribe who also settled north of the Osage River and lived close to the creeks and tributaries of the mighty Osage.


The Rock House

The Osage were the tallest tribe of Indians in North America, often reaching a height of 7 feet. Their proper name was Waszhazhe, but the French traders derived the name Osage from their original pronunciation and it has remained Osage for over 2 centuries. Perhaps the most famous of the Osage Indians in the Miller County area was a man named Jim Henry. I am assuming he had a tribal name of the Osage language, but was dubbed Jim Henry by his white friends who homesteaded in the new frontier of Missouri territory. He was probably the last of the Osage tribe to live in Miller County and he was so popular that his name remains today in our county's history; a township, creek, church, and a school were named for him.


The Rock House Inside

Jim Henry, his wife, and children lived in a remarkable, natural stone house built by Mother Nature. Today it still stands on a hillside, in Jim Henry Township, overlooking a beautiful green meadow and Highway 17 can be seen about one-half mile to the west. I visited this old stone cave a few years ago and was astounded at my first glimpse of this rock home, which is nothing more than an enormous, freak rock formation sitting atop the hillside. The residents of Jim Henry Township refer to it simply as "The Rock House". It is approximately 60 feet in length, is circular in shape and is approximately 25 feet high. With animal skins stretched over poles and used as walls to hold out the winter's cold, I could easily see how this Indian family lived comfortably in their 'rock house'.

What happened to Jim Henry and his family is unknown. They disappeared from Miller County sometime in the time era of the late 1830s or early 1840s and were never heard from again. In 1854, a man named Samuel Greenup patented the land on which the 'Rock House' was located and since that year, various families have owned the land including the families of Martin, Fowler, Winters, Tellman, Johnston, Albertson, and for the past few years has been the home of the Schulte family. As I left the hillside, where stands that unique, beautiful "House of Stone", my one thought was simply this," Oh, if only those ancient walls could talk!"